In its final match of the Champions League group tournament, Dynamo Kyiv suffered a humiliating 0:3 defeat from Bayern Leverkusen of Germany. Not only has this defeat eliminated the Kyivans from future League rounds, but has also left a bad taste after a generally successful season.
Young people who have never used ink pens can hardly fathom the despair felt by a schoolboy who diligently completes his homework and is about to put the final dot when a treacherous drop of ink falls from the pen to form a fat, glaring blot on the page of homework. After all, this is no word processor where you can put things right with a single click of the mouse.
It would be stretching it to say that the defeat was a shock for Dynamo fans. We’ve been through worse. What came as a disappointment was that the Dynamo that played on the pitch of the Bayern Arena in Leverkusen was only a shadow of its former self. In hindsight, the Kyivans had virtually no chance of not losing. This is how it all began.
The airport of the former German capital Bonn, where the Dynamo players landed, were quiet and empty: no sign of fans or reporters clamoring for a chance to talk to the Kyiv soccer stars or at least get a couple of autographs. Perhaps this was because Leverkusen is a relatively small town on the outskirts of Koln.
The meticulous and disciplined Germans learned a few lessons from their defeat in Kyiv last September. They carefully studied Dynamo’s style and found a way to defeat an opponent who could settle for a draw. The hoped-for draw played a nasty trick on the Dynamo players. The Ukrainian team played sluggishly and without inspiration in an obvious attempt to replicate the successful matches of the past fall. Nothing new was added to Dynamo’s tactics since August.
After beefing up Bayern’s defense with three experienced defenders, the German coaches placed five half-backs across the pitch to stop the forays of Diogo Rincon, arguably the only Dynamo player who was capable of mounting an offensive attack that day. Bayern’s Berd Schneider seemed to be reading the Brazilian’s mind, not letting him conjure his next move. The unstoppable forward Andriy Voronin, a Ukrainian playing for the Germans, led Bayern’s attacks, each time outrunning the Ukrainian defender Andriy Husin, who looked like a granny chasing a schoolboy. With another top-level forward Dimitar Berbatov involved in the Germans’ offensives, one could only feel sorry for the Ukrainian defense.
Could the Kyivans have scored? Probably, with Kleber and Verpakovskis making deep forays and Kadduri and Husev working the flanks. But statistics suggest that Dynamo didn’t muster a single shot at the goal of Leverkusen’s Jorg Butt in the first half. The reason is pretty simple: Dynamo could settle for a draw.
Things took an abrupt turn in the sixth minute of the second half, when the line referee overlooked an obvious offside by Voronin, while Shovkovsky uncharacteristically failed to save the ball. Later on, Shovkovsky and Husin could not stop Leverkusen’s Juan from scoring a goal after a corner kick. Theoretically, the Kyivans could have scored more than once-there was time enough for that. Yet, Dynamo did not play up to the mark. Meanwhile, after scoring their first goal, the host team stepped up their attacks without retreating to the rear so as not to lose their advantage. They ended up kicking the ball into the goal of the Ukrainian champion two more times.
On the one hand, it’s a shame that this year’s Champions League, which was very successful for Dynamo, ended in such a disaster. On the other hand, it’s good that Ukraine’s leading team has been taught a lesson in top-notch soccer not by some European star team, but by an average German team. On November 17, Dynamo, together with Dnipro and Shakhtar, will play in the 1/16 finals of the UEFA Cup. In this lower-level European tournament the Kyivans will have a chance to put Jozhef Sabo’s tactics to the test, and make some changes or improvements. Dynamo has turned the page of this year’s Champions League with a fat blot in the end. Ahead of us is a new soccer year with new tournaments and, here’s hoping, new victories.
